How Does Menopause Affect Multiple Sclerosis – MS ?
- Sunday, July 26, 2009, 13:46
- Multiple Sclerosis
- 2,660 views
- 2 comments
- Rick:
- We have an e-mail question from Charlotte in Georgia. “How does menopause affect MS?” We’ve talked about other hormonal issues and pregnancy. How about menopause?
- Dr. Lynch:
- There has not been a lot of study of that, and interestingly enough, I don’t think we really know. Anecdotally, I’ve had some women who felt that they did better after menopause, some who did not. One of the things that worries me a great deal, however, is that with menopause comes the onset of an increased risk of osteoporosis, and unfortunately, if you look at the studies, women with MS — and men — have a higher risk of osteoporosis than the normal population and in fact a very marked increase. I can’t remember the exact statistic, but it was something like after an average of 14 years with the MS something like 20 percent of women have bad enough osteoporosis to develop fractures without falls. So, I tend to suggest that women at least consider getting on hormone replacement and certainly get good checkups for osteoporosis because if you break a hip and you have MS, it’s very bad.
- Michelle:
- Not only during menopause but also pre-menopausal years, in terms of preventative health, make sure you’re getting adequate calcium in your diet. Even though I talked about the normal, healthy diet, that’s certainly an issue for women with MS. Not getting enough calcium. Pre-menopausal, you want to get 1,000 milligrams of calcium and vitamin D, which helps you absorb the calcium. And again, people with MS are often vitamin D deficient because we don’t spend a lot of time in the sunlight. So, a supplement that includes both calcium and vitamin D is important for women with MS.
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2 Comments on “How Does Menopause Affect Multiple Sclerosis – MS ?”
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good article;first time for moi….cathy, oregon
It is a great article about menopause and MS but I was looking for the affects of the profuse sweating and the intenseness of the hot flashes and there affect on the system…how they hinder thinking, walking and doing any activity. Cathy, now Oregon,from Los Angeles, Ca.